Quedlinburg - St. Wiperti

Quedlinburg is known to have existed since at least the early 9th century. It was first mentioned as a town in 922 as part of a donation by Heinrich I (Henry the Fowler).

According to legend, Henry had been offered the German crown at Quedlinburg in 919. After his death in 936, his widow Saint Matilda founded a nunnery, where daughters of the higher nobility were educated. The main task of this abbey, was to pray for the memory of Heinrich I and the rulers who came after him.

The Quedlinburg castle complex, founded by Heinrich I and built up by Otto I in 936, was an imperial Pfalz of the Saxon emperors. The Pfalz, including the male convent, was in the valley, while the women's convent was located on the castle hill.

In 973 during a Reichstag (Imperial Convention) Otto the Great introduced his new daughter-in-law Theophanu, a Byzantine princess whose marriage to Otto II brought hope for recognition and continued peace between the rulers of the Eastern and Western empires.

The town became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1426. The abbey frequently disputed the independence of the town, which sought the aid of the Bishopric of Halberstadt. In 1477, Abbess Hedwig, aided by her brothers, broke the resistance of the town and expelled the bishop's forces. Quedlinburg was forced to leave the Hanseatic League and was subsequently protected by the Electorate of Saxony. Both town and abbey converted to Lutheranism in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation.
St. Wiperti was founded in the 9th century, King Henry I had this first church here demolished and a hall church built.

In 1146 the monastery was taken over by the Premonstratensians. The first new canons came from the Cappenberg in Westphalia, but by 1224 at the latest, St. Wiperti belonged to the Our Lady Monastery in Magdeburg. By 1266 the monastery had grown so much that the buildings had to be expanded beyond the previously walled area. The towers were also built shortly before or at least renewed.
During the feud of Count Albrecht II von Regenstein with the city of Quedlinburg in 1336, large parts of the monastery, including the towers and the cloister, were destroyed. The monastery did not recover from this blow for a long time, and in 1371 the taxes to the Pope were therefore waived.

In the course of the 15th century, it came under the influence of the monastery reform movement, which led to economic consolidation and subsequently helped the monastery to a second phase of prosperity. In the turmoil of the Peasants' War, the monastery was devastated again in 1525. Although it was supposed to be rebuilt at the instigation of Duke George of Brunswick, this did not happen. When the last provost married in 1547, the monastery was dissolved.

Since the Reformation, the monastery church has served as a parish church. After many offers and auctions, the mutilated domaine in 1831 (former monastery). The church was used as a barn, and the crypt as a dairy cellar. In 1936, the SS undertook some structural modifications on behalf of Himmler in order to convert the crypt into a National Socialist sanctuary. After the restoration, carried out from 1955 to 1959 it is used by the Catholic community.

The early Romanesque tympanum came from another monastery and was installed on the south portal of the church.